The HeraldMage and the Knight
by Regeane
Summary: When Sashenka, a Herald-Mage of Valdemar tries to Gate to warn Vanyel about evil creatures in the country, something happens and she ends up in Deling City. Will she and her Companion be able to return in time to warn Vanyel? Or will they be trapped there


~~~~I own nothing, Mercedes Lackey and Squaresoft do, the only thing I own is Sashenka and Canace, and the idea.~~~~

*****A plain in Valdemar*****

"Sashenka! Form a Gate, and get out of here!" Herald Tanna yelled, as she fought back against the wyrksa.

The young Herald-Mage nodded, and turned to the doorframe that was behind her. She bent the magic to her will, and the strands of magic that were creating the Gate turned white. She whirled back around, her face tight with concentration. 

"Tanna!" she called, frightened for her.

"Go back to Haven! Warn Vanyel!"

She nodded, and dove through the Gate with her Companion, Canace, hoping everything was going to be alright. After she entered the Gate, the energy went red, and exploded, taking out the wyrksa, and knocking Tanna unconscious.   


****Sorceress Edea's Parade, Deling City*****

The float was making it's way to the arch where the SeeD trap was to be sprung when it happened. Seifer Almasy, Sorceress Knight was the first to notice the strange 'thing' appearing in front of them. He stopped waving, and his hand tightened around the handle of his gunblade, Hyperion. It separated, and for a moment, Seifer could have sworn he could see a plain on the other side. When it finished separating, he had approximately 5 seconds to see a person wearing white flying towards him, and knocked them both to the floor of the float. He then realized that it was a young woman, who immediately got to her feet, and closed her eyes.

_" Canace? Are you there my Companion?"_

_"Sashe, my Chosen, I am here, but this place is strange to me, this isn't Valdemar, or Haven"_

_"I know, there is much advancement here, and yet..."_

_"Be watchful Chosen, I don't like the feel of this place"_

_"I will Canace, you be careful too"_

"Who the hell are you?!" a strong, and rather arrogant voice demanded to her. 

She turned to meet the person she had crashed into, and was met with a pair of angry green eyes.

"I am Herald-Mage Sashenka of the Haven in Valdemar" she replied shortly, causing him to step backwards.

She looked around the streets of this strange place, and was impressed by what she saw.

Hmmm, they don't use beasts to travel on, rather, they seem to use these strange horseless things. I wonder if they are more comfortable then wagons were, Lord and Lady knows thatwas a horrible trip.

"What the hell are Herald-Mages, and where is Valdemar?" Seifer asked, gesturing for guards. 

"We are protectors of Valdemar, our land of origin" she replied, looking right into his green eyes, unafraid of this man.

She focused on her gift of Empathy, and Saw what he was really like: a scared child, who used arrogance, and fear to feel safe. She let it go, and lowered her gaze, feeling sorry for him. As she let it go however, she caught a strange, posessive link between him, and the woman behind him. 

"I am the Sorceress Edea, you will be brought to the Presidential Palace for questioning by my Knight" she told Sashenka.

_Damn, I'm going to have to break the bond she has over him, or he'll be twisted away from the truth by her. She thought to herself, as the soldiers came up to her, and began dragging her away._

She walked willingly with them to a large building Sashenka realized was the Presidential Palace. When she was brought inside, they pushed her into a room, and locked the door behind her. She looked around the simply furnished room, and sat in a chair.

_Well, looks like I've gotten myself into a great amount of trouble. What happened when I Gated?_

She was startled when the door opened, and a very irritated Seifer entered the room.

"I am Seifer Almasy, and I expect to be treated with respect. You have no power here Herald-Mage.." he told her shortly.

She sat up straight in her chair, and regarded him silently for a few moments.

"I do not want to be here, I don't know how I got here or why, all I want to do is to go home"

He seemed to be surprised that she would readily give up such information, and walked to the bed, and sat.

"What do you mean you don't know how you got here?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Well, a friend of mine and I were attacked by wyrksa and he yelled at me to Gate out of there, and I did. Something must have happened to the Gate when I got into it..." she explained, trailing off.

"Gate? What do you mean by that?"

"You create a 'doorway' of magic to get from one place to another quickly...it's very hard on it's creator"

He regarded Sashenka for a while, and she noticed a darker, evil presence around him.

"Hmmm.... it almost feels like he's trying to fight it in some way"

She got to her feet, and looked out a window.

"So, you were trying to get to another place in your country" he replied softly.

There came several shots in the courtyard, and Sashenka staggered as she heard Canace yell at her.

_"Chosen! Help me!"_

"Canace! Hide yourself!" she yelled out loud.

"Who's Canace?" Seifer asked.

"Chosen, I must get to you"

"How do you get the courtyard?" she demanded.

"Follow me" he told her, leading her down hallways and out of the Palace.

"Canace!" she called.

The white and grey horse came out of nowhere, several soldiers running after her. Sashenka ran to Canace, and mounted quickly.

_"Call the Knight"_

"Almasy, I must leave you" she yelled to him, spurring Canace to the exit of the Palace grounds.

"What?! Get back here! After them!" he yelled, pulling out the Hyperion.

Canace galloped off through the streets and out of the city.

"Where are we going Canace?" Sashenka asked.

_"We should go east, it seems safest"__ Canace replied._

"Right"

The two, Herald-Mage and Companion, headed east at a swift gallop through a strange land, neither knowing when or if they would ever return to Valdemar.

Author's note: Whoa...never saw this one coming. Ah well, I read too much, and have been playing FF8 too much as well. Please, review and tell me if this is a bad story or not, thanx.


End file.
